Someday
by Belle Walker
Summary: Inspired by "Neighborhood Watch" and the conversation between Deeks and Kensi regarding her possibly having kids someday. Primarily told from Deeks' perspective.
1. Prologue

_Author's Note: I'm really surprised that nobody else has jumped on this scene in Neighborhood Watch where Deeks brings up the idea of having kids with Kensi. Am I the only one who thought there was some sincerity behind his teasing?_

* * *

"What did you mean by that?"

Deeks looked at his partner in surprise. "What did I mean by _what?_ I haven't said a word."

"What you said back at the house," Kensi continued.

He furrowed an eyebrow at her lack of real explanation. "Can you be a little more specific? I recall saying a _lot_ of things at _several_ houses…"

"At the cover house in the suburbs. When you said you could 'help with that' if I ever decide I want kids."

Oh…_that_. His moment of weakness days ago in which he'd essentially offered to father her future children as she sat on the couch holding a bag of frozen peas to her bruised shoulder.

"Were you being serious?" she now wanted to know. "Or were you just being…_you?_"

Damn that kid and his slingshot. If he hadn't shattered the window and spooked two gun-carrying partners, Deeks and Kensi would have finished this particular topic long ago and it hopefully wouldn't be coming back now to bite him in the ass.

"I was…being serious," he answered tentatively, as if he was unsure that that was the right answer to give. No, it _was_ the right answer to give — he just didn't know if it was the one she wanted to hear.

"Oh," Kensi responded with a lilt in her tone, apparently having expected a different reply and at a loss for words with the one she got.

Deeks, too, was quite uncomfortable at the moment. Yes, he'd twice before referred to Kensi's potential offspring as 'mutant assassins'…and no, neither one of those times had he imagined any guy but himself contributing the other half of their DNA.

'_They would be fighting for the side of justice, naturally,'_ he'd said to her on the first occasion. Of course they would, having a cop and a federal agent as parents.

On the second occurrence, he'd managed to say, _'I am the husband, which means I have parts of my body that are able to—'_ And then that damned broken window interrupted the rest of his sentence.

But he'd used her name at the time — her _real_ one, not her cover's name. _'Kensi Blye going all soft on me?'_

And calling himself the 'husband'…that had just been playfulness on his part because of their cover as a married couple. But the implication behind what he'd said (and what he never got the chance to say)…that was genuine.

"Why do you ask?" Deeks now countered with a question. If they were going to talk about it, they might as well really_ talk_ about it.

But Kensi backpedaled. "Just…curious."

He looked at her, unconvinced. "That's all? You're just curious?"

"No," she admitted quietly, looking down for a second before glancing back up at him. "It was a nice offer."

"It _was_ a nice offer," Deeks agreed lightly. It was an offer he didn't give to just anybody.

She looked back at him a long moment before speaking again. "Maybe I'll take you up on it someday."

A smile pricked at the corners of his lips as he regarded her softly. "Well…don't wait too long to cash it in."


	2. Chapter 1

'Someday' came sooner than he'd expected — for barely two years later, here he sat facing his partner as she explained why she felt that she was ready to attempt motherhood.

"Are you sure?" he couldn't help but ask. "I mean like _really_ sure?"

Kensi nodded. "I've thought about it for a long time. It's what I want to do. Unless _you're_ having second thoughts about it…?"

She hoped that wasn't the case. She'd seen him interact with kids many times, and she had no doubt in her mind that he would make a wonderful father.

But if he wasn't ready for it yet…well, there wasn't anybody else that Kensi wanted to share her parental status with.

She would not go to a sperm bank and randomly select her future child's paternal genes from a pre-collected sample. It was this man, or it was nobody.

Deeks was quiet a moment, weighing his own feelings on the matter.

He couldn't deny that the idea of fatherhood scared him. What if he royally screwed up, and his child one day fired a gun at him like he'd done to his own father?

_No_, he declared silently. He would _never_ be like his father.

He would _love_ his children…protect them…give his own life for them.

He would be a good father, and Kensi must know that or else she wouldn't be sitting here now asking him to make good on their spontaneous agreement from two years ago.

Deeks really did want kids someday. And if he was honest with himself, he wanted them with her.

And what better time to start 'someday' than right now?

"If you're sure," he answered seriously. "Then so am I."

A host of emotions washed over her — relief, fear, affection…and a few she didn't dare classify. But she kept her cool and gazed steadily back at her partner with a slight nod of her head. "I'm sure."

He nodded too. "Okay." It was a little surreal. He'd just agreed to help a woman he wasn't dating to make a baby. "Do you wanna…shake on it?" he ventured a bit awkwardly.

She gave him a look that clearly said _'You're a dork'_. Aloud, she voiced, "Well…I guess we should make an appointment with a specialist."

"A specialist?" he echoed, wrinkling an eyebrow. "What — are you thinking, like…artificial insemination?"

The open look on her face told him that she'd considered just that.

Deeks managed to prevent the grimace that threatened to show on his face, but he was honestly put off by that idea. A.I. was for couples who had trouble conceiving on their own, and for women who didn't have a man in their life to supply the necessary assets.

No...if he was going to donate anything to her cause, he was going to do so properly.

"Or we could try it the good old-fashioned way," he suggested seriously but cracking a smile and allowing a little bit of teasing to spill out. "I'm sure it's not nearly as much fun as the artificial method, but it's still got its popular points."

Her cheeks warmed at his blunt suggestion. _The old-fashioned way_.

Sex between the two of them? It would be nothing short of mind-blowing. And it _would_ have the artificial method beat, hands-down.

"Okay," she responded. "Let's do it."

"What — you mean like…right now? Well, I'm not exactly in the mood yet. I mean, you didn't even bring me flowers and — "

She cut him off with a kiss. Just one…short and simple, but effective.

"Scratch that," he mumbled, all trace of humor gone. "Definitely in the mood now."

Kensi gave him a cute little smile, drawing back. "Sorry…that was just to shut you up. It doesn't have to be tonight. In fact, I thought we could just…play it by ear?"

He knew what she was doing. She was giving him more time to think about it. Time to back out before it was too late.

"So, whenever the mood strikes us, huh?" he clarified. "Alright — I can work with that."

But the mood didn't strike until over a week later, when they sat on her couch after work, verbally sparring with each other as they enjoyed a late meal together in front of the TV.

Deeks made a joke that for some reason Kensi found to be ridiculously funny. And just when she'd gotten over her giggles the first time, it tickled her funny bone again and her body shook with muffled laughter as she tried desperately to rein it in.

He'd impressed himself with his ability to get her laughing. It wasn't often that she found his jokes funny in the first place, much less funny enough to keep her going.

Kensi wiped away tears of laughter, inadvertently smearing the day-old remnants of her mascara under her eyes and on her fingers.

"Ugh," she sighed, abandoning her dinner to run to the bathroom and wash away the streaky grey mess.

Deeks gave her a minute to wash the makeup off her face before leaving his own dinner and following after her.

Her face freshly washed, Kensi was wringing out the used cloth when he came up behind her. Her eyes met his in the mirror as his hands came to rest on her hips.

One arm snaked around her narrow waist from behind and he tilted his head to press a kiss beneath her ear.

She sucked in a breath as his facial stubble tickled her.

Another kiss to the side of her neck, a little lower than the first…and her legs were starting to weaken.

She dropped the washcloth in the sink and turned to face him, her skin already tingling at his touch.

Her fingers slid up to linger on his chest before clutching a handful of his shirt as she leaned up to meet his lips.

There was passion in her kiss and Deeks knew that tonight would be about more than just making a baby.

Four years of sexual tension between two partners was finally getting its release.

He backed her up against the sink, making his intentions clear.

But he didn't rush it. He wanted their first time together to be magnificent.

His tongue danced with hers and he felt her begin to melt into his arms.

He greedily tightened his embrace. There was no turning back now — this was really happening.

And he hoped that the fact that he'd initiated it had removed all residual doubt that Kensi might have still had about his readiness to be a parent.


	3. Chapter 2

Deeks was disappointed to hear that Kensi had gotten her period eight days after their first night together.

But he knew they'd have fun trying again.

He'd heard horror stories about couples being driven apart by trying too hard to conceive. Couples whose lives centered around the next fertility cycle, the best time to try…and the shattering disappointment when all the planning and stressing and strategic intimacy failed to produce the desired results.

He prayed that wouldn't be the case with him and Kensi.

Granted, their situation was different. Technically they weren't actually a _couple_ — a fact which Kensi reminded him daily whenever he tried to steal an extra cuddle or sneak in some type of public display of affection that didn't pertain to whatever cover they were trying to sell at the moment.

But when she seduced his body, she ensnared his mind, too…and she didn't seem at all bothered by the touching and kissing and exploring that they shared together then.

No, trying to create a baby didn't drive them apart. If anything, it brought them closer to each other.

They conformed to no schedule, no strategic planning, no pre-arranged date to be intimate.

He wondered if they shouldn't plan at least a _little_ bit to increase the chance…but their spontaneity certainly kept it intriguing.

And in stark contrast to their first time together, their second one was borne purely of anger.

Deeks made a comment that, in hindsight, could be construed as a little insensitive.

It completely pissed Kensi off and she gave him the silent treatment whenever possible for the rest of the day.

And _that_ pissed _him_ off. How were they supposed to work together and solve crimes if they weren't talking to each other?

"For the millionth time — I'm _sorry_, okay?" he entreated his partner, but he was getting tired of apologizing to a brick wall.

"Deeks…" Kensi held up a hand to silence him before she was tempted to kick his ass once and for all, and she stalked off toward the women's showers attached to the gym at the old mission-style building they worked out of.

She flung the door open and slammed it shut, but it flew open again as Deeks stormed through.

He grabbed her — he kissed her — and he released her.

She punched him in the shoulder. And then she was kissing him back with all the energy that her pent-up frustrations had collected that day.

Deeks fumbled for the lock on the door to keep out intruders, and thus began their second time together.

And another period came and went.

Their third time, they had both been hurting. Not just physically, but emotionally too. They'd just wrapped up a very challenging case that hit way too close to home for one of them.

The details were unimportant, but Deeks couldn't help drawing the parallels between his own troubled childhood and that of the kid they'd just rescued today.

Kensi could tell that the case had affected him more deeply than the others, and she waited until Callen and Sam left before coming over to her partner's desk and perching on the front edge next to his chair.

She put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly, her compassion showing plainly in her eyes. "Buy you a beer?"

"Actually…I've got some in my fridge, if you want to help me finish it off."

She nodded. "That sounds good." She grabbed her stuff and they left the building together but got into their own separate cars in the parking lot.

Kensi parked in a guest spot at Deeks' apartment building and followed him inside.

He took two cold beers from his fridge. He handed her a bottle and brought the other one up to numb the split on his lip from getting punched by a suspect earlier in the day.

Kensi didn't really want the beer — it was just an excuse to spend a little more time with her partner as he recovered from the day's activities.

She set her unopened bottle on the counter, her eyes never leaving his face.

Her fingertip traced the cut on his lip, gently so as not to cause him any more pain. And then she softly kissed it to make it better.

And when Deeks offered no complaint, she kissed him again.

His lip did hurt, but her touch was healing him.

He abandoned his own unopened beer, sliding his arms around her and thoroughly returning the kiss.

They made love three times that night — once on his couch, and twice in his bed.

And even if it didn't make her pregnant yet, the comfort was exactly what they both needed at the time.

But after that night, Kensi was careful to avoid any alcohol…just in case.

Weeks later, Deeks studied his partner across the space between their desks.

Kensi was unusually quiet that morning, and looking a little green around the gills.

It was only when she stood abruptly and bolted for the women's restroom that his suspicions were confirmed.

He tapped a knuckle on the door. "Kens? You okay in there?"

"I'll be out — just give me a minute," she called back just before another gag reflex hit her.

Deeks propped himself against the wall, hands in his pockets as he waited for his partner to come back out.

She finally emerged, pressing a wet paper towel to her forehead and then to her flushed cheeks.

"Are you…?" Deeks trailed off, not wanting to say the word _'pregnant'_ out loud in case there were eavesdroppers nearby.

She nodded weakly, swallowing down the bile in her throat. "I think so. I threw up yesterday morning, too. Plus my — " she lowered her voice. "My _you-know-what_ should have come and gone by now, and it hasn't."

Yep, those were pretty good indicators, he figured. But he didn't want either of them to get their hopes up just yet only to have them crushed.

"We'll do a test tonight," he decided. "To be sure."

"Yeah." Definitely.

On the way home after work, Kensi stopped at the drugstore and grabbed a small handful of instant pregnancy tests.

Deeks was waiting for her at her apartment, and she let him in but locked him out of the bathroom in order to use the tests in privacy.

The first one gave its answer. But she didn't trust it completely so she used two more just to be sure it wasn't a mistake.

Finally, she unlocked her bathroom door and opened it to share the results with him.

"Well?" Deeks prompted when she just stood there. "What's the verdict?"

She turned around and walked back to the sink where she produced one…two…_three_ pregnancy tests — all of them positive.

His heart leapt, and he gave her a little smile as he leaned casually against the doorframe. "You're going to be a mom."

"And you're going to be a dad," she answered softly, a light smile gracing her face and a hint of wonder coloring her voice.

As the weight of it all finally sunk in, a tear slipped down her cheek. "Damn hormones," she gave a self-conscious little laugh, brushing the tear away.

Deeks chuckled at her attempt to play it strong. "Hey — it's okay to cry about it. Happy tears aren't a weakness."

She wiped away a few more. Yes, she was happy with the test results…and yet admittedly a tiny bit scared now that the reality of it was finally upon her.

"Are _you_ happy?" she now asked, her tear-brightened eyes looking into his.

Deeks gave an honest nod. "I am."

He pushed himself off the doorframe and drew her into a hug, inhaling contentedly as her arms slid firmly around him in return.


	4. Chapter 3

It took every ounce of his self-control not to ambush Hetty and beg her to confine his partner to her desk chair for the next nine months.

He _so_ wanted to. Even if he got saddled with a new partner whom he absolutely couldn't stand, it would still be better than the fear that gripped him every time she knelt down…or lifted big things…or worked out in the gym as she was accustomed to doing freely.

Deeks wondered if all expectant fathers felt that same frustrating protectiveness about the women carrying their children.

He tried to lighten up about it.

Kensi tried to _make_ him lighten up about it.

But it wasn't easy. So he kept his concerns to himself for the most part, and only lectured her about something when he felt it absolutely necessary.

And her dark eyes would flash defiance at him for the briefest second, but she would humor him just the same because she knew that he had her best interests in mind.

Yes, he knew a fetus was quite safe in its mother's womb. But he also knew that things could still happen. And that's what made him nervous.

Several weeks after taking the pregnancy tests, Kensi came to his bed again.

It surprised him because although they were expecting a baby together, she resisted labeling them as a couple…and he'd kind of assumed that once she actually got pregnant, their nights of intimacy would come to an end.

Not that he was complaining about having her in his bed again. Far from it.

He watched her as she laid there peacefully in his ivory-colored sheets with the ends of her long dark hair spilling onto his pillow.

"Stop staring at me," she murmured, her eyes still closed.

He grinned. "I can't help it. Put a gorgeous woman in my bed, and where else am I supposed to look?"

She was beautiful to begin with. But now she had that special glow that made it just that much more difficult for him not to look.

He spooned her, dropping a kiss to her naked shoulder and splaying one hand softly across her stomach.

It was still pretty flat.

"So when are you supposed to start getting fat?" he teased in her ear.

She poked her elbow at him, but then moved her own hand down to cover his on her stomach.

She was going to have to buy some maternity clothes. And baby clothes. And everything else babies needed.

The one part she _wasn't_ looking forward to was weight gain. But fortunately, she knew how to keep in shape and she planned to hit the gym every day to work it back off after the baby was born.

Her eating habits didn't change much with her pregnancy. She tended to put away a healthy amount of food before she was pregnant — she just burned it off with her job and her gym training.

Sparring in the gym was going to come to an end. And running, too. She would still be able to go for walks, at least.

But for now, Kensi rolled over in Deeks' arms and stretched one of her own across him. She hooked one leg comfortably over his and rested her cheek against his bare collarbone before closing her eyes again.

Deeks couldn't help a satisfied grin at being cuddled by Kensi. This was his own personal heaven.

Now if he could just get her to admit that they were, indeed, a _couple_…

Well…even if she didn't say it, he knew the truth. Her actions spoke louder than her words —especially when they kept on sharing a bed every now and then.

In her fourth month, Kensi's pregnancy finally started to show.

It wasn't much, but when Deeks knew her body like he knew the back of his own hand, it didn't take a whole lot of studying to see it.

And he continued to worry about her.

What if a suspect got physical, and struck her in the stomach? And as far as he knew, they didn't make bulletproof clothing in maternity sizes.

As long as she was inside the OSP building where nothing could touch her, he could relax. But as soon as she walked out that door to pursue a lead or anything, Deeks was on edge again…even when he was right there beside her.

There were undeniable dangers that came with her job of being a federal agent.

Deeks sighed. That was one of the many things they still needed to talk about.

They really needed to let Hetty in on their secret. Hetty could block Kensi's exposure to the dangerous elements by giving her the safe assignments and leaving the more involved jobs to the boys.

He laughed wryly to himself. That was going to be a fun conversation…both with Kensi _and_ with Hetty.

Normally, it wasn't difficult for Kensi to win an argument against him. Sometimes he let her win right off the bat — other times he strung her along for a while just for the fun of it. And once in a while, he got the upper hand.

But this time, he wasn't going to budge. Not when the matter in question was the safety of Kensi herself and their unborn child.

So one morning as they entered the OSP together, he broached the subject on his mind. "We need to tell Hetty about your 'condition'."

"Okay."

"O—okay?" he stammered in surprise. He'd expected an argument.

But she agreed with him. "No, you're right. Hetty needs to know."

Well, that was easy. "Okay."

Hetty was not pleased at first to learn of their situation. It changed the partnership between these two, and it altered the dynamic of the team as a whole.

But Henrietta Lange was not a grinch, either. She could appreciate the desire of two people to start a family together…although she did believe they could have gone about the professional part of things a little better than they did.

"I will have no choice but to limit your activities in the field, Ms. Blye," she informed Kensi. "Being an active federal agent is a risky job, as you well know."

Kensi nodded. "I understand. I am more than willing to take on behind-the-scenes work for the next few months."

"And when the baby is born?" Hetty continued, looking at her agent and her liaison officer. "Will you be returning to work then?"

Kensi bit her lip and glanced down, unsure how to answer that.

Deeks looked at his partner but addressed Hetty. "I guess we still have things to talk about."

"Yes, you do," their boss agreed mildly. "In the meantime, your work will proceed as usual…the exception being that Ms. Blye is restricted from participation in _regular_ field work. And Mr. Deeks…you and your partner will take every precaution to ensure the safety of herself and the child on the few occasions that she _does_ join you."

Deeks looked at Kensi again. "Agreed," he said softly.

She met his eyes. "Agreed."

"Alright, then." Hetty nodded her head once, indicating the conclusion of their meeting.

The two partners stood.

"Oh, Mr. Deeks…Ms. Blye," Hetty voiced before they could leave.

They turned back, half-expecting some sort of reprimand now.

But their boss only smiled. "Congratulations."

Kensi returned the smile. "Thank you, Hetty."

"Thanks," Deeks also echoed.

"Is everything okay?" Callen asked the two as they finally reached their desks. "I saw you both talking with Hetty."

"Umm…no," Kensi answered shortly. There was no getting around it, so she just plowed ahead. "Hetty is limiting my time in the field."

"Why would she do that?" Callen wanted to know.

She took a deep breath. "Because I'm…pregnant."

You could have heard a pin drop out in the street a mile away.

Sam was the first to recover. "You're pregnant?"

"I didn't know you were dating anyone," Callen said with an apologetic tone.

"She's not," Deeks put in, giving his partner a taste of her own medicine.

Hey — if she could insist they weren't a couple, he could definitely use it against her to make her change her mind.

"You're pregnant, but you're not dating anyone," Callen repeated, squinching an eyebrow. "How exactly does that work?"

Deeks caught the look on Kensi's face. She was going to kill him for this. But somehow he didn't care.

"What — you guys never heard of artificial insemination?" It was a total misdirect, but it worked on the other two agents.

"How do _you_ know she did that?" Sam now turned to Deeks.

"I'm her partner. It's my job to know," he answered easily. "If she's pregnant, that affects me, too. It affects all of us."

Deeks looked at Kensi again, and he couldn't be mean to her any longer. "Anyway, I don't know why you guys are acting all mad about it. I mean, we should be _congratulating_ her…not passing judgment."

"He's right," Sam admitted. "Sorry, Kens. Congrats."

"Thank you." She smiled at Sam, but pointedly ignored Deeks. She would deal with him later.

Callen gave her a hug. "Congratulations. So this was deliberate?" he verified.

She confirmed it with another smile. "Yes, it was."

"Looks like Shaggy here is gonna have to get used to that cramped back seat again," Sam couldn't resist the jab at Deeks, knowing their LAPD liaison's aversion to riding in Sam's beloved two-door muscle car.

"And what's wrong with driving _my_ car?" Deeks argued. "Four doors, and no gas-guzzling? Plus it doesn't smell like a dead cow inside."

Now Sam was offended. "That's the smell of fine leather, Shaggy-boy."

Callen turned an amused eye to Kensi. "Any chance you could pop this kid out early and take Deeks right back off our hands?"

Kensi merely smirked. "Enjoy your third wheel." But she added, "I can still do _some_ field work. I just won't be chasing down and beating up suspects."


	5. Chapter 4

"I can't believe you lied to Callen and Sam today."

"Beats lying to _myself_," he answered mildly.

Her head lifted and turned to peer at him strangely. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

Deeks kept his eyes trained deliberately on the screen of his laptop. "I just find it interesting that you want to have my kids, and yet you _deny_ that we're in a relationship."

"What?" Kensi looked at him like he was insane. "I've never _denied_ our relationship."

He raised both eyebrows and finally turned his head toward her. "No? Then why is it that every time _I_ refer to us as a couple, _you_ tell me not to say that?"

She gaped at him. "Oh my god. Deeks…you _completely_ misunderstood me."

He now gave her a look that questioned her sanity. "Really? Tell me — how does one misunderstand _'don't call us a couple'_?"

"That's not what I _meant_," she insisted. "I never said we weren't in a relationship. Obviously, we are. I just don't like using _that_ particular word to describe us. It's so…inadequate."

"Inadequate?" he repeated densely. "What do you mean?"

Kensi set her papers down and turned fully to face him. "Deeks…you and I have been together almost every single day for the past four years. We know each other inside and out. We've been through _everything_ together. What makes you think that a word as plain and simple as 'couple' can even _begin_ to describe what we are?"

Her words lifted his heart. "You really feel that way about us?" he asked softly, searching her eyes.

She gazed steadily back. "Of _course_ I do."

Her hand touched his face, caressing the sexy five-o'clock shadow he wore so well. Then she brought her lips to his, her kiss telling him everything he needed to know — and then some.

Relieved at having misunderstood the situation, he indulged in the kiss.

Kensi drew back to look at him again. "I bet you're feeling pretty stupid now, aren't you?"

He chuckled good-naturedly, his blue eyes sparkling at her. "Yeah..."

She gave his arm a gentle punch. "How could you even _think_ such a thing?"

"Well, apparently I'm an idiot."

"Apparently," Kensi echoed in agreement. "You'd have to be, to lie to two federal agents. Thanks to you, they think I went to a sperm bank," she added resentfully.

"Sorry." He awarded her a contrite little smile. "Don't worry — I'll fix it tomorrow."

She turned back to her paperwork. "Damn right, you will."

The next day at work, he watched her across the room as she gave Nell a hand with some kind of research project in a far corner of the bullpen.

Her shirts were getting a bit tighter lately, and not just where the baby was growing...

"Stop ogling her, man," Sam chastised without bothering to look up from the newspaper crossword puzzle he worked on. "I know that motherly glow is attractive and all, but that's some other guy's baby she's carrying there."

"I wasn't _ogling_," Deeks refuted, shifting in his chair. Well, actually he _was_ ogling…but he figured he had every right to since he was half-responsible for the pregnancy that was making her already ample bosom even larger.

"It's okay to admit you're jealous, Deeks," the other man continued casually.

"Jealous?" he echoed in offense. "Who said anything about jealousy? I happened to be looking in the general direction of my partner — is that a crime now?"

"Sam, don't poke the bear," Callen spoke up from his desk chair, also perusing a section of newspaper.

Deeks smirked to himself. Usually that kind of comment was reserved for him. It was nice to hear it aimed at someone else for a change.

Feeling a bit restless as they sat around doing pretty much nothing, he finally stood to take a walk and stretch his legs.

"I'll see you guys later."

Sam spoke again. "If you're leaving to go surf, I'm telling Hetty."

"Thanks," Deeks answered dryly. He tapped a knuckle on the top of his desk. "Oh, by the way — Kensi's baby? It's mine, too."

Two heads jerked up to stare at him in shock. _"What?"_

He turned to leave, grinning widely.

Deeks couldn't keep a watchful eye on Kensi when he was out pounding the pavement with Sam and Callen…but he sure made up for it on the few times that the two of them _did_ work together again in the field.

And more than once, he'd confiscated her junk food.

"That's my kid too, you know," he reminded her as they sat in his car running surveillance on a suspect's house from a safe distance. "I don't want him to be born diabetic because his mom has a sugar addiction."

Kensi bit back her response but gave him a dirty look as she reluctantly accepted the almost-sugar-free fruit smoothie he handed her.

She didn't want to risk her baby's health either…but she'd been craving a brownie for days and that chocolate cupcake was the closest thing she had to satisfy her urge.

"Really?" she snapped at him as he unwrapped the baked good he'd just stolen right out of her hand and took a bite. "You're going to eat _my_ cupcake right in front of me?"

"Nothing gets by you," he replied, licking the frosting off his bottom lip before taking a second bite.

"Spit it out."

"What?" he laughed around his mouthful of cupcake.

"If _I_ can't have it, neither can _you_," she declared firmly.

He swallowed. "Are you kidding me?"

"Do I need to remind you that I'm carrying a gun?"

He chuckled, enjoying a third delicious chocolaty bite and completely unconcerned with her threat. "You're losing it, Fern."

She glared daggers at him, and without warning she grabbed for the rest of her cupcake.

But he was quick, and he threw it out the open window for the birds to enjoy.

She socked him forcefully in the bicep.

"Ow! _God_…" Deeks gritted his teeth, flexing his shoulder and pinning her with an evil look. "I hope our kid doesn't inherit your punching fist."

Kensi sat back in her seat, sulking. "You owe me a cupcake. No — actually, I want a brownie. A _big_ one."

"You can finish off the frosting," he offered generously, holding chocolate-smeared fingers toward her.

"God knows where _those_ hands have been today," she scoffed in derision.

Deeks shrugged. "Suit yourself." And he licked his own fingers clean.

But the next morning at work, Kensi was pleasantly surprised to find a modest bouquet of flowers and a small bakery-style package of sugar-free brownies waiting on her desk.

Deeks saw her face light up as she fingered the package and smelled the flowers, and when her smiling eyes met his across the square of desks he knew he'd been forgiven.

He went faithfully to all of her routine pregnancy checkups, and he couldn't describe in words how it felt to hear the baby's heartbeat for the very first time.

And he often delighted in sneaking up behind her, sliding his arms around, and measuring her growing belly with the span of his hands.

"You're lucky I knew that was you," she informed him the first time he'd done it. "Or you'd have been on the ground out cold within two seconds."

He didn't doubt that. Good thing she knew his touch so well.

She no longer shoved him away when he gave her obvious and playful public displays of affection, but she did still try to keep the contact to a professional minimum around their colleagues.

Shoulder-brushes, occasional pokes, and flirtatious glances were still enjoyed between them — things they'd already been doing long before they'd gotten together.

At night, they shared a bed more often than not. Sometimes hers, but more frequently his. Who'd have thought that Kensi Blye would become addicted to sleeping beside him?

It wasn't always intimate — as with any two people in a relationship together, sometimes it was just _sleeping_.

But he couldn't say that he didn't enjoy waking up with her, even when fully clothed.

And as happy as Kensi was about her pregnancy, she couldn't help but feel a little self-conscious about her size.

She wasn't vain like Deeks appeared to be, but she had always been proud of her slender figure and now she didn't have it anymore.

She missed her size-two jeans. But her large belly was only temporary, and she'd get her body back after the baby was born.

And once in a while, her prominent baby-bump worked to their advantage on the job. Who wouldn't trust a pregnant woman?

_Idiots_, Kensi scoffed silently at the three white-collar criminals lying handcuffed on the ground courtesy of her partner and the rest of their team. _Never trust a pregnant woman!_

Deeks tossed a grin in her direction, roughly hauling one of the criminals to his feet. "I think 'damsel-in-distress' suits you well."

"You oughta be ashamed of yourselves," Sam scolded both of them in disgust as he jerked another handcuffed person to his feet. "Using your own baby as _bait_."

"Not bait — a _distraction_," Deeks clarified, moving past Callen who secured their final prisoner. "Besides, Kensi and kid were more in danger of being audited by these three clowns than anything else."

"Oh, go easy on him, Sam," Kensi said. "Six months ago, he wanted to chain me to my desk. I think I've finally got him re-trained."


	6. Chapter 5

Deeks couldn't recall ever being quite as happy with his life as he was right now.

He had a meaningful career, a family in the works, and he had friends around him who actually cared whether he lived or died.

He was one of the lucky ones, he told himself. Not everyone could say the same.

And then one day…some of it came crashing down.

"I guess I just don't see what the big deal is," Deeks said in mild frustration.

"The 'big deal' is that I feel like you're _suffocating_ me," Kensi tried to explain. "I can't do _anything_ anymore without you freaking out. I can't go to the gym. I can't practice at the shooting range. I can't even enjoy a damned _donut_ without you practically ripping it out of my hands."

He sighed. Her and her donuts. "Kensi…"

"And that poor guy at the store yesterday," she continued, her dark eyes flashing at him. "All he wanted was a bag of chips off the shelf."

"I'm _sorry_," he apologized for that incident again. "It just looked like he was reaching for you, and my first instinct was to protect you."

"Deeks — you nearly dislocated his shoulder."

Yeah, he may have been a _little_ excessive that time.

Her next words were quiet, but they stabbed him to the core. "I think we need to take a break from each other."

He stared at her, certain that he'd heard that wrong. He _had_ to have.

But that look in her eyes told him hadn't.

"You're breaking up with me," he stated in dull realization.

She didn't deny it.

He swallowed the dryness in his throat, steeling himself against the sudden prick of tears in his eyes. He backed up a step, exhaling a breath almost in disbelief.

She watched him retreat, her own eyes filling with tears. "Deeks…"

He shook his head and jammed his hands into his jeans pockets, instinctive self-preservation kicking in. "No — it's fine. Alright? I get it. The deal was a baby…not a boyfriend."

She wanted her space? He'd give it to her. The heartbreak of it may kill him…but if that's what she wanted — _fine_.

They were almost strangers to each other for three weeks straight. Even at work, their interaction was minimal…and then it was kept strictly and painfully professional.

He actually looked forward to leaving her behind at OSP and joining Sam and Callen in their field investigations, even if only to forget for a little while that things were so achingly dead between them.

"You know," Callen spoke casually from the front seat. "I think this is the most silence I've ever heard with Deeks in the car."

Deeks didn't respond. For once, he was glad to be crammed into the back of Sam's two-door muscle car. The backseat matched his mood — dark and depressing.

Sam's eyes met his in the rearview mirror. "Trouble in paradise?"

Callen and Sam had no clue that Kensi had ended things with him. He hadn't told them, and it appeared that she hadn't either.

He looked out the side window. "It's none of your business."

"If it's going to affect your ability to focus, I'll _make_ it my business," Sam promised threateningly.

Deeks glared at the other man in the rearview mirror again. "I'm focused. Trust me."

But as his gaze returned to the scenery outside the car, his thoughts returned to the woman who apparently was no longer his girlfriend.

It was a good thing they hadn't moved in together yet. They still had their own separate apartments that they could hide in and avoid each other.

He was still determined to be actively involved in his kid's life when he or she was born…although it _was_ going to be interesting raising one child between two separate homes.

A broken home from the start. That was not a life he'd ever really imagined offering to his children.

Yes, he was aware that his bargain with Kensi at the beginning had not necessarily included a real relationship between the two of them.

She'd decided she wanted a baby, and he'd agreed to help make it happen.

He supposed it was really his fault in the first place. Almost three years ago now, he'd put forth a spontaneous (and admittedly, not well-thought-out) offer to help her have kids someday.

It had been _his_ stupid idea that they sleep together in order to conceive — she'd wanted to use artificial insemination to get the job done. Probably in order to avoid any emotional entanglements just like these, he surmised.

And yet he knew that even if they _hadn't_ ever slept together…if she was pregnant with his baby — regardless of the method used — he would still want to pursue a real relationship with her because she was the mother of his child.

Kensi Marie Blye was a lot of things. She was a kick-ass federal agent. She was a highly-trained sniper, and her skill set was well-respected by her colleagues.

She could best a man twice her size in hand-to-hand combat. She could hotwire just about anything. And in just two more months, she would add 'proud mother' to her résumé.

She was also the first woman ever to end a relationship with Marty Deeks.

And that was why she was currently the unhappy owner of a terrible mistake that she'd made in a desperate attempt to maintain her freedom and independence.

"Did you ever have children of your own, Hetty?" she asked her boss late one afternoon after everyone else had gone home.

"There were many that I _loved_ like they were my own. But no, I was never blessed with parenthood myself."

"Never been pregnant, then?" Kensi ventured. "Never felt like a prisoner in your own body because you can't do any of the things you're used to doing?"

Hetty was silent a moment, choosing her words carefully. "Are you upset because your independence is no longer yours…or because Mr. Deeks cares enough about you to try limiting your activities regardless of your wishes?"

Kensi looked down, her fingers joining together over her seven-month tummy. "Maybe a little of both," she answered honestly.

"Motherhood does bring its limitations on a person," Hetty continued wisely. "But it doesn't mean that those limitations take anything away from the person you are."

Kensi's small laugh lacked any humor. "The person I've been lately is someone I don't want to be," she confessed quietly. "I pushed away the one man who's always had my back…who's always been there for me no matter what. And I've been _hating_ myself ever since."

"Then perhaps it's time you rectified that mistake," the older woman answered gently.

She was right. And so was Deeks, really.

Kensi gave her boss an appreciative nod. "Thanks, Hetty." She rose from the chair.

"My door is always open. Goodnight, Ms. Blye."

Deeks was surprised to see her at his door. "Come to twist the knife?"

But he regretted the words the moment he'd said them. "Sorry. That was…mean."

"It's okay," she answered quietly. "I deserved it."

He regarded her coolly, not an ounce of warmth in his eyes. "What are you doing here, Kensi?"

She swallowed the lump in her throat, seeing that he wasn't going to make this easy for her.

"I'm sorry."

Two small words laden with regret.

He didn't shut the door in her face, but he didn't voice forgiveness either.

"Sorry that you're carrying my kid?" he asked flatly.

"Sorry that I pushed you away," she clarified. "I will _never_ be sorry for having your child."

He still just stood there looking at her through the open doorway…not inviting her in, and not telling her to leave.

"I don't want to break up with you," Kensi said plainly. "I just need to feel like I'm still my own person at least _some_ of the time."

"You _are_ your own person, Kens," Deeks responded softly, shortening her first name to one syllable. "You're the most stubborn, independent woman I've ever known. And I would _never_ try to change that."

He never saw himself as the controlling boyfriend. Those kind of men were usually abusive, and he'd relished in putting as many of those kind in jail as he possibly could.

No, his crime in her eyes was caring too much about her and the child they'd made together. And he wasn't sure what to do with that.

"I just wish sometimes that you'd let me feel like you really _need_ me," he finished a bit lamely.

Tears stung her eyes. "I _do_ need you," she answered firmly, staring intently up at him. "More than I've ever needed _anyone_ in my life."

His expression softened, but he wasn't caving just yet. "Then prove it."

She did the only thing she could think of at that moment. She touched him for the first time in three whole weeks.

Kensi cupped his stubble-covered face in both of her hands, her thumbs softly caressing away the pain and anger that she'd so stupidly put him through.

She leaned up, and the second her lips met his, Deeks' resolve crumbled.

Defenses down, he drank in her kiss. His hands briefly came to her hips and then his arms snaked around her, holding her as tightly against him as he dared without squishing the baby between them.

"God, I missed that," she breathed, sinking into him.

He'd missed it, too. _So_ badly.

He dipped his head and claimed her mouth again, drawing strength from her lips, her hands, her body.

Without breaking the second kiss, he pulled her inside his apartment and kicked the door shut.

Making love to a woman who was seven months pregnant was a new experience for him, but he found that it wasn't any less satisfying than any of the previous times he'd been with Kensi.

And as he often liked to do after a night of intimacy, he studied her as she slept there beside him in the early morning hours of the next day.

Every detail of her face was already ingrained in his memory, but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy her beauty in person, too.

Deeks laid on his side, propped up by one elbow as he gazed solemnly down at her.

He brushed a stray lock of hair off her cheek, toying with the silky strands as they slipped through his fingers.

"I love you," he softly whispered — the first time either of them had ever spoken those words to the other person.


	7. Chapter 6

At his whispered confession, her eyes opened.

She stared up at him a long moment, as if to gauge whether he really meant what he'd just said.

But Deeks didn't backtrack on his words one little bit. He simply stared right back down at her, silently waiting for either rejection or acceptance.

Kensi's mouth opened and she softly requested, "Marry me?"

His heart actually skipped a beat. Considering recent events, he hadn't quite expected to hear those particular words spoken by Kensi Blye.

"Shouldn't that be my line?" he said.

"I wasn't sure if you'd want to say it," she answered solemnly.

"Are you sure that _you_ want to say it?" he probed seriously. He did want her to be his wife, but he didn't want her to feel any kind of pressure so soon after they'd just reconciled their breakup.

She simply nodded. "Yes."

"Okay."

"Okay?" she echoed, almost in surprise.

"Okay," he confirmed. "As in, 'Yes, I'll marry you'."

Her eyes teared up at his answer, and Kensi blamed it on the pregnancy hormones. "I love you too, by the way."

The most adorable smile spread across Deeks' face. "Say that again."

"I love you," she repeated, her thumb stroking lightly at the short new stubble sprouting along his jaw. "I think I probably always have."

His blue eyes shined at her. "Me, too."

Leaning down, he kissed her slow and tantalizingly sweet…but his alarm clock chose that moment to blare at them and the kiss faltered.

He pulled himself away from her and silenced the offending object. Then he laid back down with a sigh, not wanting to abandon his Kensi-filled bed to go to work.

"Go on," she said reluctantly, patting his chest. "You need a shower anyway."

"I have a better idea," he answered, and reached for his cell phone instead.

As expected, Hetty was at OSP long before official work hours began.

"This is Deeks," he greeted. "Listen, uh…something came up and…Kensi and I going to be just a _little_ bit late getting into work today."

He paused, a smile appearing on his face again as he looked at the woman in his bed. "Yeah, she's here." He listened again for several seconds. "Alright. Thanks, Hetty." And he ended the call, thinking how nice it was to have a boss who cared.

"Looks like we get to sleep in for an hour," Deeks happily said to Kensi, resetting the alarm and settling back down into the warm bed.

She snuggled up to him as much as her round belly would allow.

They laid there for the longest time, just holding each other. No talking, no kissing…only healing.

If he lived to be a hundred years old, he'd never grow tired of having her in his arms.

And Kensi was perfectly content to just lie there, absorbing his wonderful presence into every inch of her skin.

She'd gone three whole weeks without him. Without his touch…without his kiss…without his smile.

Those three terrible weeks had felt like three years.

Not doing that again, she told herself. _Never_ again.

Eventually the alarm went off again, finally forcing them both out of bed.

Kensi went home to bathe and dress while Deeks made use of his own shower and wardrobe.

When he arrived at work, the rest of his team — minus Kensi — were sitting at their desks apparently waiting for a new case to come in.

_"Late,"_ Callen fake-coughed like an immature teenager as Deeks strode to his desk.

Deeks chuckled good-naturedly. "And good morning to you, too."

Sam observed the cheerfulness in their colleague's demeanor — a complete one-eighty from yesterday's (and the last three weeks') darkness. "Peter Pan find his happy thought?"

Deeks grinned at the other man. "Poke all you want, Sam — this bear ain't bitin'."

Kensi walked in about ten minutes later. "Good morning," she greeted the three, easing slowly into her desk chair.

The two senior agents returned the greeting casually.

"Really?" Deeks looked at Callen and Sam. "I get the fake cough, and Kensi gets a 'Good Morning'?"

Callen shrugged. "We like her better."

"Just for that, I call shotgun for the rest of the week."

"Fine," Callen played along. "We'll take my car. Sam — you don't mind the backseat, do you?"

Sam gave them both a menacing stare. "I'm not riding in the backseat of _anyone's_ car. Understand?"

Kensi chuckled softly to herself, shaking her head at the arguing trio.

She missed being out in the field with these guys every day. She missed being able to act annoyed with their bickering while secretly being amused by it.

Most of all, she missed the thrill of chasing down bad guys with her weapon and feeling like a valuable member of her team.

Behind-the-scenes work was the pits. She didn't know how Nell and Eric could stand it, spending all day — _every_ day — sitting in front of a keyboard.

Kensi was _itching_ to shoot something…even if it was just a piece of paper with a target drawn on it.

Finally, she couldn't stand it any longer. She went down to the shooting range in the basement and poked around in the arsenal until she found a weapon paired with a silencer.

A gunshot couldn't disturb the baby if the baby couldn't hear it.

She set up her paper target, loaded her weapon, and took the first shot.

It was quiet, but _very_ satisfying.

Every shell was soon spent, and she reloaded and started on a fresh target.

And that was where Deeks found her almost an hour later.

She regarded him steadily as he sauntered into the room, standing her ground and silently daring him to object.

But he merely selected a gun himself — one with a silencer, just like hers — and took the booth next to her.

No lecture, and no freaking-out. He just smiled at her once, prepared his target and weapon, and took aim.

Kensi smiled to herself, reloading her gun once again.

Target practice with her partner…just like old times.

Deeks couldn't blame her one bit for being down in the shooting gallery. He was surprised she'd actually lasted as long as she did without practicing her skill with a gun.

But that was his Kensi — strong and stubborn. Bending to no one…not even to him.

He knew she'd expected his disapproval at her being in the shooting range while pregnant.

But she'd been clever in going for the silencer, and since the noise of gunshots around the unborn baby was really the only thing that concerned him about her being there…honestly, what did it hurt?

Deeks did wish he had his own Beretta in his hand at the moment, rather than the unfamiliar and somewhat unwieldy silencer pistol he was currently using.

But it was okay because he wasn't there to do _real_ target practice…he was just letting Kensi know that he supported her.

He found several subtle ways to show her that he really was trying not to suffocate or dominate.

One day she'd fallen asleep on the leather couch at OSP with a folder in her hands propped open on her lap.

He slid the folder from her hands, closed it before the contents could spill to the floor, and set it on the nearby table.

He thought about covering her with the blanket lying nearby, but he refrained from doing so.

If she wanted the blanket, she would have gotten it herself. Since she hadn't…obviously, she didn't want it.

He left her uncovered, and Kensi — not really asleep, but just sitting back with her eyes closed — internally smiled to herself.

She knew he really was trying hard not to be overbearingly attentive anymore, and she appreciated his deliberate self-restraint.

She loved him for his _wanting_ to protect her — she just didn't need him to _actually_ protect her.

But she did _need_ him, and she did her best to make sure he knew that.

Don't get her wrong — she was glad that his protective nature existed because it proved to her that he would be there for his children when they needed him too.

Kensi's father had always been her hero. She was sure that her own son or daughter would see a similar hero in their father, Marty Deeks. And she wished that _his_ father hadn't been such a completely wretched opposite of a hero while Deeks had been growing up.

"When's she due?" Callen asked as Deeks returned to his desk.

"About seven more weeks," he responded simply.

"Have you picked out a name yet?" Sam wanted to know.

"Nope. We don't even know yet if it's a boy or a girl. Kensi wants to be surprised." He paused, adding, "She tell you we're getting married?"

"No…that's great," Callen answered, genuinely happy for them. "When?"

He just shrugged. "Don't know yet."

"Hmmph. Don't know much of anything, do you?" Sam retorted.

Deeks grinned ruefully. "Not at this point in life, no."

After work another night, he stopped by her apartment before going home himself.

Kensi reclined on her couch with a pillow jammed behind her back and the TV remote in her hand.

Deeks stood before her with both hands behind his back and a playful look on his face.

"Got something up your sleeve there, partner?" she asked, eyeing him curiously.

"So to speak. Pick a hand."

"Ooh, a game, huh?" she replied. "Okay…left hand."

He drew out a handful of flowers and gave them to her.

She brought them to her nose. "Mmmm, nice."

"Pick another."

Well, unless he had three hands behind his back, there was only one more to choose.

"Right hand."

He revealed a small plate with her favorite kind of donut on it.

She looked at it, almost afraid to accept. "What's the catch?"

"No catch," he answered, knowing exactly why she hesitated. He gave a slight shrug. "Baby steps."

Kensi finally took the sugary gift and bit into it, sighing as the gooey frosting melted on her tongue. "That's _so_ good," she mumbled happily.

She slid her bare feet back on the couch cushion to make room for him to sit. Then she set one foot in his lap and raised the other one slightly in the air.

"Am I supposed to kiss your feet?"

"You can if you want to," Kensi answered around another mouthful of donut. "But I was just hoping for a good foot rub."

He smiled. "A foot rub, I can do."

She'd missed his hands. They really were nice ones. Bigger than hers…strong. And pretty, for being a man's.

A sudden movement in her belly made her gasp, her free hand coming to rest at one spot.

Deeks tensed with her. "Kensi? What's wrong?"

She relaxed, chuckling softly as she met his concerned gaze. "The baby's kicking." She grabbed his hand and held his palm to the spot she'd clutched at. "Here — you feel that?"

He concentrated for a few seconds, and then he felt it too. "Wow," he breathed, a grin appearing. "That's awesome."

Kensi affectionately rubbed her tummy as if to reassure the baby that yes, everything was fine in the world that he or she was soon to come into.

"I think we've got a little surfer in there," Deeks joked. "He's trying to ride the waves already."

"Or _she_," Kensi answered evenly, finishing off her donut. "It could be a girl."

"Could be one of each in there," he suggested impishly. "I mean, you are getting kind of _big_."

She had to reach in order to hit his shoulder. "Thank you for reminding me of how fat I am. And you know very well that I am not carrying twins."

He rubbed his shoulder, then went back to massaging her feet. "I still say he's going to inherit your punching fist," he grumbled lightly.


	8. Chapter 7

"Got plans this Saturday night?" he asked casually, leaning against her desk.

She shook her head. "No…why?"

"Well, it occurred to me that you and I have never actually been out together."

"What? We've gone out together plenty of times," Kensi rebutted.

"Yeah — undercover. I'm talking about a _real_ date. Like dinner...maybe a movie...and _lots_ of cuddling." A cute smile appeared on Deeks' face as he added, "You won't even have to chase down a suspect in your high heels."

"For the record, I'm not putting my feet anywhere _near_ high heels," Kensi informed him with light humor. "And I should warn you…I've got a policy against second dates with anyone."

"Well, then…we'll just have to make the first one really count."

And their first date _would_ count, because Deeks had something special planned.

Saturday evening he took her to a nice restaurant for dinner, and waited until after dessert to reveal his little surprise.

Although technically she had already proposed to him four weeks ago now and he'd already accepted, Deeks really wanted to do this part properly.

With an engagement ring hidden in one palm, he rose from his seat and knelt beside Kensi's chair. He took her left hand, caressing her fingertips a moment as he looked up into her beautiful face.

He gently slid the ring over her knuckle and asked a soft, simple question. "Be my wife, Kensi Marie Blye?"

A little choked up all of a sudden _(damn hormones!)_, she nodded her head and gave him a tender smile. "Of course I will."

A few spontaneous claps sounded behind him. Apparently some of the other patrons had witnessed the proposal too.

Deeks ducked his head with a light chuckle. With his attention focused solely on Kensi, he hadn't realized they'd gained an audience in the restaurant.

"Let's get out of here," he said to his fiancée with a smile, standing and offering her his hand.

He paid their dinner bill on the way out, and she slipped her fingers between his as they walked slowly back to the car.

Her new ring felt very obvious on her hand right now, but it was certainly at home there and after a while it wouldn't seem quite so conspicuous.

This wasn't her first engagement, but it was definitely going to be her last.

"Do you realize we've been partners for nearly five years now?" Deeks commented offhand.

"Five years ago, did you think we'd be where we are now?" Kensi asked him.

"Walking down a sidewalk together?" he deadpanned. "I have to say, there was always that possibility."

She swatted his arm with her free hand. "Shut up. I'm serious."

He chuckled briefly, but sobered. "Five years ago…I would've only dreamed it…and just barely, at that." He glanced at her. "What about you?"

She smiled, thinking back. "Five years ago, it didn't seem possible. You had just begun annoying me with your hot surfer's body…and your _completely_ unprofessional flirting with your new female partner."

He smiled too, remembering. "To be fair, you kind of started it…telling me all about your naked photos the second time we met. You wanted me from the beginning."

Kensi's chin gave a jaunty lift. "I will admit that 'Tracy' was _somewhat_ attracted to 'Jason Wyler'…but as far as _I_ was concerned, _you_ were a possible criminal with just another pretty face." She paused and added, "Of course, I wasn't disappointed when you turned out to be an undercover cop."

"Yeah? Imagine _my_ surprise when _you_ turned out to be a _Fed_. I honestly didn't see that one coming."

She looked at him again. "What was your first impression of me?"

"I thought you were too hot to really be one of Danny Zuna's girls," he replied easily. "Turned out I was right."

"And now?"

Deeks grinned shamelessly. "Oh, you're _definitely_ hot enough to be _my_ girl."

Kensi chuckled, giving his arm a brief little squeeze. "Well then, it's a good thing I'm your type."

"You know it, Fern."

He opened the passenger door of the car like a true gentleman, and she let go of his hand to get inside.

She buckled her seatbelt below the bulge of her eight-month sidekick and admired her ring in the moonlight as Deeks got in behind the wheel.

"You like it?" he asked.

"I like it." She looked at him with a new smile tugging at her lips. "And I kinda like you, too."

"Yeah? I think I kinda like you, too. So did I earn a second date, or are you sticking to your one-date policy?"

She played along. "Well…it was a little iffy for a while there…but then you totally redeemed yourself with this pretty diamond."

He laughed softly, leaning in for a kiss. Then he buckled up and started the car.

Back at work two days later, Kensi had spent most of her afternoon researching through a stack of paperwork when Callen, Sam and Deeks shuffled in looking much the worse for wear.

"What happened to you guys?" she asked in surprise. "I thought you went to make a simple arrest."

"We were too late," Callen answered with thinly concealed anger. "And a bomb went off just as we got there." Heavy feet carried him upstairs to Ops.

"Suspect got away," was all that Sam added as he stalked by, following his partner.

Deeks tried to give her a reassuring smile but it came off as more of a grimace. He looked down at the torn sleeve covering his arm, grateful that the bloody gash across his shoulder wasn't worse.

He could see that Kensi was a little shaken at his appearance, but this was neither the time nor to place to talk about it just yet.

"I'll see you later," he offered before ascending the staircase too.

After briefing Hetty on the situation, Deeks retreated to the bathroom to clean up his arm with the first aid kit.

Then he went to look for Kensi, finding her outside on one of the secluded balconies, staring off into the distance.

He wrapped both arms around her shoulders from behind, hugging her back against his chest.

Kensi leaned into him, welcoming the embrace and bringing one hand up to lightly grasp his arm. "How's your shoulder?"

"It's just a scratch; it'll be fine." To dispel the heavy mood around them, he added, "Although the next time you need to hit me…if you'd just aim for the other arm, I'd really appreciate it."

She choked out a laugh that ended with a sigh. Their jobs were dangerous — she knew that perfectly well.

And now that they had a child on the way, their risk was even greater because now there was somebody to potentially leave behind.

But she couldn't ask him to give up his life career any more than he could ask her to. And it didn't mean that they loved their child any less.

Abruptly she turned in his embrace and fixed him with an intent look. "I forbid you from getting yourself killed, do you hear me?"

He cupped her cheek with one hand, wanting to erase the worry in her eyes and assure her that nothing was going to happen to him — to either of them — but he knew he couldn't promise that, so he didn't.

"Yes, ma'am," he answered soberly. "And the same goes for you."

She nodded silently, swallowing back her emotions. "Are you too sore to kiss me?" she asked in a small voice.

He smiled. "Never." And he gave her a kiss she wasn't likely to forget anytime soon.

They agreed later that their child should have a godmother or godfather in place in his or her life, in the unforeseeable event that something did happen to the both of them in the future.

Hetty was Kensi's only choice for godmother, but after serious consideration she decided that it honestly would not be the best decision.

Hetty Lange wasn't young anymore, and even though she was still spry in her older years the fact remained that she too could be gone long before their child was grown.

Callen wasn't a perfect choice either. The man was loyal and protective, but his simplistic bachelor lifestyle was really not conducive to raising a kid.

And Nell or Eric? No way. They were still too young themselves to be tied down by someone else's child.

"That leaves Sam," Deeks concluded. Sam had actually been his first choice, but they had to start their list somewhere and weed out the 'undesirables'.

"He has a family already, so it wouldn't be a shock to his lifestyle," he said.

"And he knows how to love and care for children," Kensi agreed. "And if anything happened to him, too…his wife should still be there."

Deeks nodded. "Let's ask him."

"I would be honored to be your kid's godfather," Sam told them, truly pleased to have been asked.

"Don't you want to talk it over with your wife before you decide?" Deeks couldn't help asking. "I mean, it's a big commitment on her too."

Sam shook his head. "She wouldn't say no. I know she wouldn't."

"We should definitely put it in writing, though," Kensi voiced logically. "Just in case."

And so Sam and his wife officially became godparents to Kensi's and Deeks' child.

Her ninth month of pregnancy seemed to drag by at a snail's pace.

"I feel like I've been pregnant forever," she commented heavily, sitting down to rest for the millionth time that day.

"I think you have," Deeks couldn't help teasing.

He was too far away to hit. "Shut up," Kensi chuckled softly. "I think men should have to experience carrying something akin to a ten-pound bowling ball around every day for nine months."

"Some do," he answered. "It's called a beer-belly."

She giggled. It was not just a laugh, but an actual _giggle_.

Maybe it was just her hormones playing tricks on her, but lately Kensi seemed to find his jokes to be pretty funny.

In any case, it was better than the moodiness and weeping that a lot of women went through during pregnancy.

Their baby was due any day now.

Little by little, they'd transformed Kensi's spare bedroom into a nursery and now it was complete with a crib and changing table and a cute rocking chair.

But it was difficult to decorate and buy clothes when they still didn't know yet whether the baby was going to be a boy or a girl.

Kensi hoped for a girl. Deeks didn't care either way.

He idly wound a lock of her hair around his finger as she laid on the couch with her head on his lap.

"I'm tired of resting," she complained, and struggled into a sitting position beside him. "I want to take a walk."

"A walk sounds good," Deeks answered, not seeing any harm in it.

They circled the entire block together once, but Kensi felt good enough for a second round so they started another.

Halfway back home, she stopped suddenly in her tracks as a sharp pain came to her abdomen.

Deeks' hands steadied her. "Kensi? Are you okay?"

She gasped again, gripping his wrist with fingers of steel. "I think I'm in labor."

The walk must have induced it.

Deeks was just a little bit panicked inside, but he didn't let it show. "Here — sit down." With strong arms he guided her down onto the middle of the sidewalk.

Both of their cars were at her apartment — too far for her to walk back now, and there was no way he was leaving her there to go for one.

Thank god he had his cell phone to call an ambulance with.

The ambulance came and he climbed in with her, and Kensi's hand clung to his like he was her lifeline.

The rest of it was a blur to him…and probably to her, too.

But when the long and painful hours of delivery were all over and done with, Kensi and Deeks had a brand-new baby girl.

"Hi there, princess," he whispered to the infant cradled in his arms.

Those bright blue eyes of hers she definitely got from him…but he suspected that her bald little head would be sprouting dark hair like her mama's before long.

He rocked her gently from side to side, enchanted by her fingers, her ears, her nose…so tiny; so precious.

Pride swelled in him. This was his daughter. His beautiful, amazing, _perfect_ daughter.

He tore his gaze away from his one-day-old baby girl to look at the woman lying in bed in the hospital's maternity ward.

Exhausted from the delivery, Kensi had slept all night and most of the next day. Her hair now framed her head on the pillow, messy and slightly curled from the sweat of her exertion.

His image of her as Wonder Woman was reinforced tenfold. She showed the strength of a warrior in enduring the agony of her first childbirth. And she'd nearly crushed all the bones in his hand with every labor pain that pulsed through her.

But that was all behind them now, and Kensi had more than earned the right to rest.

The infant in his arms gurgled, recapturing his full attention. Two pairs of blue eyes locked onto each other again.

It was amazing how this helpless little thing could steal his heart so quickly.

He was going to teach her everything — how to surf, how to laugh, how to pick a lock…okay, maybe not how to pick a lock. He was not raising a criminal.

But he was definitely going to teach her how to kick any boy's ass a dozen different ways.

"Planning out her entire life?"

He smiled, looking up at the sound of Kensi's sleepy voice. "How did you know?"

"Because I already did that, too."

She took in the sight before her, committing to her memory the beautiful image of Marty Deeks holding their brand-new daughter. "How's my girl?"

"She's perfect," he responded, completely biased. "How's my other girl?"

Kensi smiled, inhaling deeply. "Happy."

He held her gaze, feeling pretty darn blissful himself. "Good."

Kensi pushed a button to raise the head end of her bed just enough and put her hands out to hold her daughter.

Deeks carefully set the infant in her mother's waiting arms and pulled his chair up to the hospital bed to sit close to both of them.

"So…you got plans after you break out of this joint?" he asked casually, folding his arms beside her on the mattress.

"Thinking about our second date already?" she quipped.

"Sort of. I thought maybe we could start moving all your crap into my place—"

"What's wrong with _my_ place?" she interrupted.

He just looked at her. "Really? I can stand in your living room and practically touch the north and south walls _at the same time_."

"As if _your_ place is any bigger," she scoffed lightly. "Ten square feet more than mine? _Please_."

He shrugged. "Okay, we'll find a bigger place. And then after _that_…I thought maybe we could start planning a little wedding..."

She looked at him teasingly. "You think I'm going to marry you? You can't even _shave_ properly — what good are you?"

He gave her a cute smile. "You _love_ my scruff."

She touched her fingers to his unshaved cheek, lightly stroking. "Yeah…I kinda do."

She looked down at the beloved infant now sleeping peacefully in the crook of her arm, and raised a love-filled gaze again to his face. "We did good, partner."

Deeks leaned in to steal a kiss. "Yes, we did."


	9. Epilogue

"Hey — you back to work already?"

Kensi smiled at Callen and Sam as she dropped her duffel bag in the corner. "Sorry, guys. I'm just here to get reacquainted with the gym. I've got two more weeks to get back into shape, and then you'll get to see me full-time once again."

She hadn't had a workout in so long that she'd almost forgotten what the inside of the gym at OSP looked like.

She was so looking forward to getting back into the swing of things. She'd missed her workouts like crazy…and she really wanted to look good in her wedding dress, too.

"Is Deeks home with the kid today?" Sam asked, pausing from his own workout at the punching bags.

"No, actually they were both right behind me." Kensi looked back through the open door to where she'd last seen the two of them.

Hetty had cornered them at the top of the stairs, and she now held the baby expertly in her arms as Deeks patiently stood by.

Their petite boss finally handed back the infant and went on her way.

Deeks cradled the baby securely in one arm and bent slightly to lift the empty carrier back off the floor.

Kensi smiled to herself. Barely four weeks old, and that girl already had her father totally wrapped around her tiny little finger.

She was a quiet baby, taking after her mother more than her father in that respect.

She didn't cry much, choosing to observe her world with wide blue eyes rather than loudly proclaim her place in it.

Sam was reaching for the baby before Deeks was even close to them. "Hey, there. Remember me? I'm your godfather."

Callen also took a turn holding her. "She got a name yet?"

"Larissa Rochelle Deeks," Kensi stated proudly. "But _someone_," she gave a pointed look at Deeks. "Thinks she needs a nickname."

"And I'm still pushing for 'Densi'," Deeks replied smoothly.

" 'Densi'?" Sam echoed. "How does that even remotely sound like 'Larissa Rochelle'?"

"It doesn't. It's a contraction of our names," he explained simply. " 'Deeks' and 'Kensi'— _'Densi'_."

Callen spoke up again. "You do realize that Deeks is your _last_ name, right? Not your _first_?"

"Yeah…but 'Marty' just doesn't blend with 'Kensi' like 'Deeks' does. 'Densi' sounds much better."

Sam just looked at him.

"What? It's _cute_," Deeks insisted.

"It's cute," Kensi agreed. "But it sounds too much like _my_ name. 'Kensi'…'Densi' — it's just wrong."

"Densi Deeks," Callen tried out the name. "I dunno…I kinda like it."

His partner jabbed, "Well, it does beat just having a single letter…_G_."

"Oh, you are _so_ lucky I'm holding a baby right now," Callen warned with a good-natured scoff.

"Alright — no bloodshed in front of the kid, huh?" Deeks interjected.

Nell entered the gym, her small high heels clicking across the floor. "Hey, guys — Hetty wants you in Ops."

When she saw the baby in Callen's arms she made a beeline for them. "Aww…she's _adorable_."

"Takes after me," Deeks replied impishly, earning an open-palmed smack from Kensi across his arm. "Ow! And her, too…"

She rubbed his arm where she'd just smacked him and rested her cheek briefly against his shoulder.

Nell put her finger into Larissa's tiny hand. "Hey — hi," she cooed in a funny voice. To the guys, she reminded, "Hetty's waiting."

Callen handed the baby to Kensi, who settled her back into the carrier where she'd be safe while her mother got some much-needed exercise.

"It's good to see you again, Kensi," Nell called over her shoulder as Sam and Callen followed her out.

"You, too," Kensi answered. "Bye, guys."

"Well…duty calls." Deeks started to leave too, but Kensi's hand pulled him right back toward her.

She stepped close, giving the front of his shirt a gentle tug. "Don't have too much fun without me."

His hands settled low on her back and he gave her a suggestive grin. "You know, I _could_ just stay right here…and you and I could have _lots_ of fun."

"As tempting as that sounds, I think you better go before you get in trouble."

But he enjoyed a lingering kiss from his fiancée first.

Deeks reluctantly pulled himself away. Giving a glance to his baby daughter, he said, "Take care of your mom, kiddo. Steal her donuts."

Kensi laughed, giving his backside a playful swat. "Get out of here."

* * *

The End.


End file.
